This
morning as I studied and prayed, I asked God for a more joyful spirit. I asked
Him to help me shine the light of Jesus to those around me. I asked Him to help
me be joyful in spite of how I might feel and no matter what my circumstances
are. I read a devotion about joy. I read Scripture about joy. I was encouraged.
Then, I tried to replace the screen protector on my smart phone. What a
mistake! My joy was quickly zapped! The last time I had a screen protector put
on was when I first got the phone and it was done flawlessly by my friend at
the phone store. Not so much when I tried it myself this morning. I tried repeatedly to get it on correctly without the dreaded air bubbles, with little
success. I let the whole process frustrate me, until I realized that
it really does not matter if there are a few tiny air bubbles on my phone
screen. It really is okay. IT REALLY IS OKAY!! Why do I let such tiny things
frustrate me and rob my joy? Why do I forget how blessed I am? Why do I walk
around sometimes like the world has ended? Why am I not more joyful? Good questions.
Well, that
whole experience got me thinking. Quite often, in life, I let the “tiny air
bubbles” frustrate me and steel my joy. In fact, lately, I’ve let a lot of little things keep me from experiencing the joy that I have through Christ. Life is
SO short and one of my greatest desires is to live life to the fullest,
experiencing abundant life and joy, so that I can shine the joy of Christ to
others. I am realizing lately that I do not laugh enough,
, play enough, dance enough, sing out loud enough or thank God enough for all that He has done
in my life. I have so much to be thankful for. I have so much to be joyful for!
No, not everything in my life is perfect or even the way I’d like it to be.
That is just life, but, I have much to celebrate and much to rejoice over.
This
morning, a friend of mine posted a poem that was read at her brother’s funeral.
He died very suddenly and unexpectedly, and today marks the one month anniversary of his death.
She shared a very personal post about how he lived his life and about what
an example he was to her and others as he lived for Jesus. The poem talked
about laughing more, crying less, dancing more, living life to the fullest and
making sure that those you love know that they are loved. I do not practice any
of these things nearly enough in my life. I strongly desire to stop letting the
small things (and the big things) keep me from experiencing the joy that being
a child of God offers me.
So, the
next time you hear me complaining about my arthritis pain, or the next time you
see me walking around with a sad face, you have my permission to remind me of
all of the things that I should be grateful for. Please gently and lovingly
remind me to laugh more, to be more spontaneous, to call my friends more often,
to dance more, to be sillier and less serious, to cry less, complain less and
celebrate life more. Because before you know it, my time will be over and I do
not want to miss living life to the fullest while I have the time. It’s not
always going to be easy, but it’ll be worth it! No more focusing on the air
bubbles of life! And, more focusing on the people and the things that matter most in life!
In closing,
this reminds me of a song we have been singing in Vacation Bible School this
week at our church. The song is an older song that has been given a more
current, catchy tune. It reminds me of what is to come. Here are the lyrics. This is worth celebrating! God bless
and thanks for reading, I pray that you are encouraged by my simple words.
Soon and Very Soon (by
Andrae` Crouch)
Soon and very soon,
We are going to see the King;Soon and very soon,
We are going to see the King;
Soon and very soon,
We are going to see the King;
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
We’re going to see the King.
No more crying there,
We are going to see the King;No more crying there,
We are going to see the King;
No more crying there,
We are going to see the King;
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
We’re going to see the King.
No more dying there,
We are going to see the King;No more dying there,
We are going to see the King;
No more dying there,
We are going to see the King;
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
We’re going to see the King.
